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Showing posts with the label twitter

Thoughts on IFTTT

Thanks to Google+, I first learned about a service called IFTTT ("if this then that").  They provide a very simple interface where the registered user can set up tasks. Each task consists of selecting a channel (such as Craigslist, Delicious, Instagram and many other social utilities), where a trigger event from said channel results in an action on a target channel. For instance, one can set up an email to be sent to one's account when the local forecast calls for snow. Or in my case, I've set up a task that tweets a customized message of thanks when I'm re-tweeted or followed. Possibly the most powerful channel that's available on IFTTT is the "Feed". Any RSS feed URL can be used as a trigger. This means that I can now consider leaving networkedblogs, on which I currently rely to syndicate new blog entry notices to Facebook and Twitter. I'd also like to review all my feed subscriptions, and see what else I'd like to automate. Thinking al

Every breath we take (Foursquare et al.)

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Approximate location of this blogger, give or take a few hundred metres After many months of dragging my feet, I joined Foursquare today. For those unfamiliar with it, this geo-social networking service allows a registrant user with a smartphone to download an application that makes it possible to easily "check in" to physical places. With tie-ins to Facebook and Twitter, it encourages users to publicly promote the businesses and services they prefer. This, in turn, is the incentive businesses value (endorsements) sufficiently to make offers to those who check-in to them. Truth be told, I'm not a particularly suitable user of such services as these. First, I'd rather not have my whereabouts documented online to this level of detail, even though I don't live alone (and thus, am not quite so susceptible to being burgled). Second, I'm an inconspicuous consumer - that is, I try to live frugally, and what I consider to be frivolous purchases mainly take

How I syndicate web content

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Like most individuals who are working on establishing an online presence, I have multiple SNSs (social networking services) on which I wish to share content. The four main services that I use currently, along with my audience demographics are as follows: Twitter : mostly topics of professional interest or music, and breaking news, scientific articles and alma mater related newsbits. My twitter follower audience is still small and largely impersonal, which encourages me to be mindful that tweets may be mined publicly by anyone. Google+ : add to my preferred Twitter topics, photos that I've begun to upload to Picasaweb, which is primarily Vienna-related. On + my audience is academic and more professionally allied than on Facebook, with very little overlap. Facebook (The link to my FB profile is not publicly available, which was my deliberate choice): most of the above, plus the occasional "true status" - things on my mind that only actual friends would find of slight int

Observations about Twitter hashtags

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I've been spending more time on Twitter lately, and wanted to note two things I've gleaned, rather unscientifically. First, about tweeting topics (or trending hashtags) and culture. In Japan, many trending topics and/or hashtags encourage sharing of personal information, and moreso of interaction between twitter users. Some examples from the last few days are: "how I came to start tweeting" and "what age would you say I am?". What seems far less prevalent thematically in Japan when compared to the other places I've been watching (French, German, Irish, American), are people (celebrities, sports figures), TV shows, and states of mind. Since I don't keep abreast of most entertainment news, and think twice before presenting too many of my rants for public consumption, I'm finding it easier to participate in incorporating the Japanese themes into my tweets, than the Western ones. Second, a tale of two anniversaries and twitter strategies: MIT15

Personal thoughts on Twitter and follower counts

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... iff (if and only if) you appreciate my blog! Here I'd like document various thoughts concerning my journey in Twitter, which I joined in 2009. At first, I wasn't convinced that I would enjoy using it. Already feeling overwhelmed by the Information Age, I also noticed a lot of highly public yet personal (read: inappropriate or irrelevant for mass consumption) tweets as well as quite a lot of rude behaviour (ad hominem attacks). At the time of joining I had no Smartphone, and even now I have a severely minimalist data plan, so I don't tweet "on the go". Since I walk to work, checking the twitter stream on my commute is also fairly hazardous (although having said that, when I had a painful bus commute I relied on audio casts and preferred musical recordings stored in my iPod due to the ease with which I succumb to motion sickness.) As of today, mostly due to the aforementioned circumstances, I still only have a handful of tweets. More depressingly, I